For most students, using the school bathroom is an uneventful experience. But for many transgender teenagers, a trip to the restroom can include strange looks and harassment from classmates.

President Obama issued a presidential directive requiring that all public high schools allow transgender students to use their preferred bathroom May 13.

It’s an enormous relief for students to know that all of their rights are under federal protection, Whitman Pride Alliance President Paula Molina said.

“We’re enthusiastic that the change will allow for more self-expression and student rights,” Molina said. “Change was necessary because prohibiting people from using the bathroom denies them the right to be treated as human beings, regardless of their identity.”

Both Whitman’s Pride Alliance and the Obama administration said they hope that the directive will curtail recent anti-LGBT+ legislation, including the controversial HB2 Act recently passed in North Carolina, which forced transgender individuals to use the restroom corresponding with the gender on their birth certificate.

Though it’s already federally mandated that public institutions can’t discriminate based on sexual orientation, the directive reinforces the concept. If schools don’t comply, they will face lawsuits and a loss of federal funding.

“The directive interprets pre-existing civil rights laws,” government teacher Colin O’Brien said. “By exerting federal power over the states, President Obama is counteracting what he feels are discriminatory state laws, but some states may still complain.”

Around the country, social conservatives have written letters to President Obama and local school boards voicing concerns over their children’s privacy rights in school bathrooms.

While some parents may argue against the decision, the purpose was to help those who need it; offending the opposition wasn’t the main goal, Molina said.

“It’s okay to be scared or nervous about change, but the LGBT+ community has dealt with those emotions for centuries,” Molina said. “Whether you are comfortable with the decision or not, it brings recognition and validity to different identities across the country, and that needs to be accepted.”